ABSTRACT
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) may encourage and eventually result in the integration of the markets liberalized under the NAFTA. In addition, the inclusion in Chapter Five of the NAFTA rules on customs procedures has been designed to permit advance rulings by customs departments in the NAFTA area on whether or not the goods qualify under the Rules of Origin as North American goods. From both the US’ and Canadian perspectives, the embodiment of consumer welfare and the consumer interest into Chapter Twenty should build on the underlying strengths of both Canada and the US in the decentralization inherent in their cultural makeups. The original idea of binational dispute panels to settle anti-dumping and countervailing duty as well as general trade disputes is carried forward from the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA). A Chapter Eighteen Commission handling trade conflicts in secrecy goes against the spirit of the FTA.
